Tissue treatment system

Abstract

A tissue treatment system has a radio frequency generator and a handheld treatment instrument that generates a gas plasma jet for delivering thermal energy to a tissue surface to be treated. Incorporated in the housing for the generator is a calibration device for adjusting the energy output of the generator, if necessary, at the beginning of a treatment session. The calibration device has a target element with a target surface, a transducer for sensing changes in temperature of the target element with respect to the temperature of a reference element, and an energy output adjuster for adjusting the radio frequency energy output of the generator in response to a calibration signal generated by the transducer. The generator housing has a receptacle for locating the nozzle of the handheld instrument in juxtaposition with the target element so that when a plasma burst is generated as part of a calibration sequence it is incident on the target surface. The generator output is automatically adjusted to compensate for any deviation of a calibration value, produced from the calibration signal, from a reference value. Also disclosed is a method of regenerating the reticular architecture of tissue, the method including calibrating the energy delivery of a tissue treatment system.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 653,480, filed Feb. 17, 2005. This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 792,765, filed Mar. 5, 2004 that is a Continuation-in-Part Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 789,550, filed Feb. 22, 2001, that in turn claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 183,785, filed Feb. 22, 2000. The complete disclosures of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 653,480, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 792,765, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 789,550, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 183,785, including the specification, drawings, and claims are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates to a tissue treatment system including a radio frequency (r.f.) generator and a treatment instrument connectible to the generat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] The preferred system is a plasma skin resurfacing system which controls the damage and modification of superficial layers of a patient's skin. Such a clinical effect is achieved by rapidly heating the outer layers of the skin from the application of energy stored by ionising nitrogen gas. The plasma emerges from the nozzle of the treatment instrument which is typically held a few millimetres above the tissue surface to be treated.

[0035] Preferably, the healing process is such that risk of scarring and hypo pigmentation is substantially eliminated.

Problems solved by technology

In an open-loop control system, deviation of one or more electrical parameters associated with the generator output from respective expected values by more than a certain degree may result in an error or fault indication, or in halt of the treatment by a control system forming part of the generator.

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